Beverage cooling device

ABSTRACT

A beverage cooling device includes an outer bucket, an inner container unit, and a drive unit. The inner container unit is disposed in the outer bucket, is adapted to receive a bottled alcoholic beverage therein, and cooperates with the outer bucket to confine a cooling space that surrounds the inner container unit and that is adapted for receiving a cooling medium, such as ice cubes or ice water. The drive unit drives rotation of the inner container unit relative to the outer bucket.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a cooling device, more particularly to a cooling device suitable for cooling alcoholic beverages.

2. Description of the Related Art

Some alcoholic beverages, such as wines, are required to be served cold to preserve the flavors thereof. Therefore, before serving such beverages, bottles of the same are usually placed in buckets full of ice. In the conventional method of cooling using ice buckets, since lowering of the beverage temperature is accomplished merely through contact of the static beverage bottles with the ice in the buckets, cooling of beverages is relatively slow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a beverage cooling device suitable for fast cooling of bottled alcoholic beverages.

According to this invention, a beverage cooling device comprises: an outer bucket; an inner container unit disposed in the outer bucket, adapted to receive a bottled alcoholic beverage therein, and cooperating with the outer bucket to confine a cooling space that surrounds the inner container unit and that is adapted for receiving a cooling medium; and a drive unit for driving rotation of the inner container unit relative to the outer bucket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a beverage cooling device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic partly sectional view of the preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the preferred embodiment of a beverage cooling device according to the present invention is shown to comprise a drive unit 3, an outer bucket 4, an inner container unit 5, and a cover unit 6.

The drive unit 3 includes a hollow base 31, a drive member 32 disposed in the base 31 and extending upwardly and outwardly through a top side of the base 31, and a switch 33 mounted on the base 31, coupled to the drive member 32, and operable so as to control activation and deactivation states of the drive member 32.

The outer bucket 4 has a bottom 40 mounted on the base 31, and an open top 41. The drive member 32 further extends into the outer bucket 4 through the bottom 40 of the outer bucket 4.

The inner container unit 5 is disposed in the outer bucket 4 and is driven by the drive member 32 to rotate in the outer bucket 4. The inner container unit 5 cooperates with the outer bucket 4 to confine a cooling space 50. In this embodiment, the inner container unit 5 includes an inner container body 51 disposed uprightly in the outer bucket 4, and a bottle basket 52 disposed uprightly and removably in the inner container body 51. The inner container body 51 has a container bottom 510 coupled to the drive member 32, and an open top 511. The bottle basket 52 also has an open top 521, and is preferably perforated. The inner container body 51 is driven by the drive member 32 to rotate in the outer bucket 4 about a vertical axis of the inner container body 51, and cooperates with the outer bucket 4 to confine the cooling space 50 that surrounds the inner container body 51 and that is adapted for receiving a cooling medium, such as ice cubes or ice water.

Since the feature of the present invention does not reside in the particular manner of driving performed by the drive member 32 for driving rotation of the inner container body 51 in the outer bucket 4, which can be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, a detailed description of the same is omitted herein for the sake of brevity.

The cover unit 6 includes a first cover part 61 coupled movably to the open top 41 of the outer bucket 4, and a second cover part 62 coupled movably to the first cover part 61. The first cover part 61 is used to close selectively an open side of the cooling space 50 to prevent undesired fluid communication between the cooling space 50 and ambient air. The first cover part 61 is formed with an opening 610 registered with the open tops 511, 521 of the inner container body 51 and the bottle basket 52 when the first cover part 61 closes the open side of the cooling space 50. The second cover part 62 is used to close selectively the opening 610 in the first cover part 61.

In use, the cooling space 50 is filled with the cooling medium, e.g., ice cubes or ice water, so that the cooling space 50 around the inner container body 50 is at a low temperature. The first cover part 61 is then operated to close the open side of the cooling space 50. Next, a bottled alcoholic beverage 10 is disposed in the bottle basket 52 through the opening 610 in the first cover part 61, and the second cover part 62 is operated to close the opening 610. When the switch 33 is operated to activate the drive member 32, the drive member 32 drives rotation of the inner container unit 5 (i.e., the inner container body 51 and the bottle basket 52) in the outer bucket 4. Since the inner container unit 5 is surrounded by the cooling medium in the cooling space 50, when the inner container unit 5 is driven by the drive member 32 to rotate in the outer bucket 4, aside from creating turbulence in the cooling medium in the cooling space 50, turbulence in the bottled alcoholic beverage 10 also occurs. That is, the alcoholic beverage is caused to contact continuously the cooled bottle thereof so that the temperature of the same can be lowered rapidly and uniformly throughout the bottle.

When it is desired to serve the alcoholic beverage, the second cover part 62 is operated to permit removal of the bottled alcoholic beverage 10 from the outer bucket 4. In this embodiment, the bottle basket 52 is designed to be removable from the inner container body 51 so that body contact with the bottled alcoholic beverage 10 can be avoided when serving the alcoholic beverage.

In practice, the cover unit 6 is an optional component that may not be found in other embodiments of this invention. In addition, the inner container unit 5 can include only the inner container body 51 such that the bottled alcoholic beverage 10 is placed directly into the inner container body 51. Moreover, the outer bucket 4 and the inner bucket body 51 may be configured to tilt relative to the base 31. Furthermore, the position of the drive unit 3 should not be limited as being under the outer bucket 4, and can be modified according to the spatial relation between the outer bucket 4 and the inner container unit 5. Also, the drive unit 3 can be designed to permit user control of the speed and duration of rotation of the inner container unit 5.

It has thus been shown that, in the beverage cooling device of this invention, fast cooling of a bottled alcoholic beverage 10 in the inner container unit 5 is possible since the inner container unit 5 can rotate relative to the outer bucket 4, and since the inner container unit 5 is surrounded by the low-temperature cooling space 50. In addition, by disposing the bottled alcoholic beverage 10 in the bottle basket 52 that is removable from the inner container body 51 of the inner container unit 5, body contact with the bottled alcoholic beverage 10 can be avoided when serving the same.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

1. A beverage cooling device comprising: an outer bucket; an inner container unit disposed in said outer bucket, adapted to receive a bottled alcoholic beverage therein, and cooperating with said outer bucket to confine a cooling space that surrounds said inner container unit and that is adapted for receiving a cooling medium; and a drive unit for driving rotation of said inner container unit relative to said outer bucket.
 2. The beverage cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said inner container unit includes an inner container body disposed in said outer bucket, adapted to receive the bottled alcoholic beverage therein, driven by said drive unit to rotate in said outer bucket, and cooperating with said outer bucket to confine said cooling space that surrounds said inner container body.
 3. The beverage cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said inner container unit includes: an inner container body disposed in said outer bucket, driven by said drive unit to rotate in said outer bucket, and cooperating with said outer bucket to confine said cooling space that surrounds said inner container body; and a bottle basket disposed in said inner container body and adapted to receive the bottled alcoholic beverage therein.
 4. The beverage cooling device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said bottle basket is perforated and is disposed removably in said inner container body.
 5. The beverage cooling device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said cooling space has an open side, said beverage cooling device further comprising a cover unit provided on said outer bucket to close selectively said open side of said cooling space.
 6. The beverage cooling device as claimed in claim 5, wherein said outer bucket has an open top, said cover unit including a first cover part coupled movably to said open top of said outer bucket to close selectively said open side of said cooling space.
 7. The beverage cooling device as claimed in claim 6, wherein each of said inner container body and said bottle basket has an open top, said first cover part being formed with an opening registered with said open tops of said inner container body and said bottle basket when said first cover part closes said open side of said cooling space, said cover unit further including a second cover part coupled movably to said first cover part to close selectively said opening in said first cover part.
 8. The beverage cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said outer bucket has a bottom, said drive unit including a hollow base having said bottom of said outer bucket mounted thereon, and a drive member disposed in said base, said drive member extending into said outer bucket through said bottom of said outer bucket, and being coupled to said inner container unit so as to drive rotation of said inner container unit in said outer bucket. 